A popular therapeutic massage technique involves heating natural stones or ceramic implements and using them to massage different parts of the body of the massage recipient. Typically the massage implements are heated with an external heat source such as a container of hot water or an electric heater. However, this approach has several drawbacks. First, the massage therapist must take care to not overheat the implements and burn the massage recipient, but at the same time ensure that the implements are hot enough to achieve their therapeutic purpose. Second, the implements begin cooling the moment they are removed from the external heat source. Even if the implements are at the desired temperature when they are first used, the implements constantly cool down until they must be returned to the external heat source. Thus, much of the time and effort of the massage therapist is occupied by shuttling implements between the heat source and the massage recipient, rather than being completely focused on performing the massage.
Another therapeutic massage technique involves using natural sea shells, particularly bivalve shells. However, using natural shells to perform a massage suffers from the same drawbacks mentioned above with respect to other heated massage implements. Additionally, natural bivalve shells present another problem, namely that the two halves of the bivalve shell must be adhered together. However, the massage shells undergo repeated heating and cooling cycles over their lifetimes as the massage therapist heats the shells for the massage and allows them to cool after the massage is complete. During each heating and cooling cycle, the shells expand and contract a small amount. Over time, this minute cyclical change in size causes the adhesive holding the two halves together to fail so that the two valves break apart.
Accordingly, it would advantageous to provide a massage implement that remains at a desired elevated temperature for a relatively long period of time, preferably for the duration of a typical massage. Additionally, it would be advantageous to provide a natural sea shell massage implement with an adhesive holding the shell halves together that does not fail if exposed to multiple heating and cooling cycles that cause expansion and contraction of the shell.